//------------------------------//
// Memories in Candlelight 
// Story: Even Rainbows Fade 
// by Pracca 
//------------------------------//

Hroo. Hroo.

A warbler owl spoke up in the dead of night, breaking the hush of darkness with its cry. Rainbow Dash knew that bird well; she’d gotten Twilight one for her birthday… 41st, maybe? Or was it 42nd? For that matter… why was it even important?

The pegasus trudged on, step by step, as the constricting silence of the Everfree Forest untangled its gnarled grip on her. It should have felt like coming out a choking shadow. But it didn’t; if anything she felt worse. She was on the path back to Ponyville now, but she still had no idea where she would go. Home was… not an option. As she slowly walked down, she looked off the side of the pathway. Fluttershy’s tree home stood vigil against the wall of trees opposite it. It was hardly recognizable anymore; the old thing had nearly tripled in size over the years. Additions added on for the kids, and their kids; not to mention new animals by the hundreds. There was usually a buzz of activity during the day, ponies of the Fluttershy clan buzzing about like worker bees, tending to all the animals and the various chores around their property. But in the hour of twilight, that activity was forgotten, and they all embraced sleep. A single, humble light was still shining out of the main room at the base of the mighty tree’s trunk, likely left on for some foal too scared to sleep alone. Maybe Shoal Surfer was raiding the pantry again?

Friends as close as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were more than involved in their kids’ lives. The cyan pegasus was practically a member of the family, and everyone referred to her accordingly around the animal care center of all Equestria. They’d all been present at the procession earlier that day.

Dash gave a wistful look at the place and turned away. This wasn’t a problem she could burden someone as frail as Fluttershy with. She needed to move on. A moment of hesitation, then her hooves started to move her down the trail.

“Auntie Dash!”

Rainbow Dash looked back towards the tree to see a lively ice-blue blur zip out and come to a landing by her side. She couldn’t feel much of anything, but her reflexes let her smile seeing Shiverwing come out to greet her. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Rainbow said, mussing up the colt’s spiked mane with her hoof. He giggled, and tried to pull away.

“Auntie Dash, cut it out; I’m gonna be a stallion in, like, a month, the least you could do is give me a little credit for it!”

“Hey, win the Young Fliers Competition this year, and maybe we’ll talk credit.” Dash told him. Fluttershy’s grandson, and Rainbow Dash’s favorite nephew had always prided himself on his speed. The old mare didn’t have the heart to tell him just how outclassed he was compared to her glory days. “But, hey, you should really be getting to bed; it’s kinda late, y’know? Fluttershy’d flip if she found out you were out here.”

“Actually, that’s the thing.” Shiverwing told her, sort of twisting his hoof in the dirt to occupy him. Or maybe focus him. “She actually told me to keep an eye out for you today.”

Rainbow felt a curious sensation. An anxiety building up deep in her gut. “S-she did? What for?”

“She didn’t say, but she said I should tell you to come inside and relax for a while. Will you, Auntie?” The colt’s brows went high, and his eyes got all shiny as he put on his best puppy face. Dash felt that odd sort of despair, wanting to feel awful; but when her foals were around, she had to put on her game face. 

She put on her most convincing grin and grabbed Shiverwing by the neck, pulling him in close and giving him a noogie as the poor pegasus colt tried to worm his way out. Over his laughter and cries of irritation she said “All right, I guess you got me! I’m a sucker for the puppy-dog face.”

As soon as he was released, Shiverwing guided his auntie down the path and up to the tree home, where he held open the door for her. She thanked him and walked inside, and what she was probably the thing she expected least, of all things.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy sat on her couch, propped up by a few pillows meticulously arranged by her adoring family, and clutching a cup of tea in one hoof. A few candles around the main room gave a warm glow to the place. Shiverwing shut the door behind him, and walked up to the frail little pegasus.

“Anything else you need, Gran-gran, just call, ok?”

Fluttershy nodded and gave her grandson a kiss on the forehead, waving him off to bed as he shot upstairs. “Oh, please don’t wake your brothers!” she called after him. But it was too late, he was already gone. She shook her head and gave a little grin as she returned her attention to Rainbow Dash.

She patted the spot next to her on the couch. Dash, unsure of what to make of all this, came over and sat down next to her. She found a fresh cup of tea already sat out for her on a doily. Freshly embroidered, even. She picked it up and examined it, and said to Fluttershy, “What’s all this about? Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep?”

“Shouldn’t you?” Fluttershy asked in turn. Rainbow felt the cut of that question; her timid friend had found very effective methods of passive interrogation over the years. Those little rhetorical responses had been perfected to an art form. 

Dash shrugged, trying not to make eye contact. “Maybe.” She studied Fluttershy’s face closely in the dim light. Not a wrinkle to be seen; scared as she might be, Fluttershy was not one for stress, and only the faintest lines of old age were starting to sink now. Her body had not been so lucky; as the years went by her legs had begun to give out, to the point she’d needed a walker by her 60th. Rainbow had found this unacceptable; she thought back to all those days she’d spent coaching Fluttershy in the art of flight, and even now she was one of the strongest fliers in Ponyville, despite her frailty in every other regard. The blue pegasus sighed.

“Okay, Fluttershy. What’s all this about?”

“Um, what do you think it should be about?”

“Huh? I don’t know, but you don’t stay up late for anything anymore; there’s a reason you’re doing this, and it’s not to chat! I want to know what that is.”

Fluttershy bowed her head; Rainbow hated to get so forceful with her, and felt her stomach churn in protest; but she didn’t have time to deal with crap from anypony right now. Not even her.

“I’m sorry, but… after today, I was very very worried about you. You seemed so sad, and I wanted to see if I could help you get through all of this.”

Rainbow’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sad. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Fluttershy looked dumbfounded at the other pegasus. “W-what do you mean?”

“I’m just angry.” Rainbow avoided Fluttershy’s attempts at making eye contact now. A torrent of memories from her earlier chat with Zecora were coming back; this wasn’t helping, any of it.

“Why would you be angry?”

“Because that idiot thought that she got to die first!”

Rainbow Dash rose to her feet, and Fluttershy floated beside her as she started to stomp away. “Rainbow, I don’t think you’re making much sense—“

“What does it matter what you think?!” Rainbow shouted back at her. Fluttershy whimpered and drew back. The cyan mare knew she needed to apologize; she would do it later. “I’m just so sick of everyone trying to help me! I don’t need help, that stupid, thick-headed egghead was the one that needed help! Thinking… thinking she gets to be the big hero, saving everypony no matter what!.. That’s MY job!”

Fluttershy felt a tug at her old heart when she saw Rainbow Dash’s eyes. The little rose irises were warbling, distorted as tears started to well up in front of them. She reached a hoof forward to try to touch the other pony’s shoulders, but she drew back from her and glared. Fluttershy winced, but she steeled herself at the same time. This wouldn’t be good, at first, but it needed to happen. “R-Rainbow Dash, please. I just want to help—“

“I DON’T WANT YOUR HELP!” The pegasus screamed. She stormed for the door, trying to make as hasty an exit as possible. But that wasn’t happening; the yellow pegasus blocked her way, and her eyes were filled with fire. Oh, Celestia no. Dash was prepared for a lot of things. But never that.

“Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy stated, in the most forceful voice she could put forward. Surprisingly, far moreso than she had accomplished as a younger mare. It was too late for Rainbow now; she was at the mercy of The Stare. “I am not stupid; you’re hurt inside, and you’re lashing out at everypony for something that wasn’t their fault! They just want to help, and all you do is shout and run! How could you be so heartless to the people who care about you?”

The blue pegasus stood rigid, her face locked into a shocked, worried expression as Fluttershy spoke. When she finally finished, Rainbow didn’t respond. At first. Then, her lips started to curl downward, trembling as she tried to fight back what was coming. A sob escaped from her throat. Then another. She fell back on her haunches, as more and more came. It built up, until the tears began to stream down the sides of her face, dripping down onto the floor as her entire body collapsed to the floor. Rainbow cried, and shook and convulsed as Fluttershy floated down to caress her mane as she wept.

“There, there; it’s okay, Rainbow, let it out.”

Dash tried to speak through the convulsing sobs. “I-I, oh, Celestia, I don’t know what I’m g-gonna do! Sh-she was all I had left!”

“Shhhh. No, Rainbow, that’s not true.”

“It is! I-I, I mean, how did she even w-w-want to be w-with somepony like me? S-she was too good for me, OK?! T-the best thing that ever—ever happened to me, and s-s-she’s, she’s… dead…”

As hard as she tried, the pegasus couldn’t say any more. She tried her best to bury her head beneath her legs as the force of her sobs grew. Fluttershy stroked her friend’s rainbow colored mane and tried her best to soothe her. Neither could have known how long they were there for, but Luna’s moon had shifted considerably further into the sky when Rainbow’s loud sobs finally began to quiet into silent, shivering convulsions. As her friend finally seemed to run out of tears, Fluttershy hoped that the pegasus would be more receptive to her words.

“Rainbow Dash, nopony can replace Twilight. But you’ve had so many other wonderful ponies in your life, you can’t forget them. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and I, we’re all right here for you, right?”

“I…” Dash sniffled. “I guess so.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “That’s right, and you can’t possibly have forgotten your own daughter? Could you?”

Rainbow couldn’t speak anymore; she shook her head no, trying to dry her tears with her bare hoof as she thought about it. Her daughter. Twilight’s daughter. No, she definitely had not forgotten, but… it had been so long since she’d been around. Dash closed her eyes, and set her head on the floor as she thought back, almost fifty years into the past. If she remembered right, it had been on her and Twilight’s 7th anniversary when they found that little filly on a train bound for Canterlot…